Jesus, anything good or praiseworthy in my life is simply a reflection of Your abiding presence in me. Help me to grow in Your grace and knowledge so that I place more emphasis on Your kingdom than on my achievements. The only true success in my ministry is when I point others to You and deflect anything that would center upon me. I want to walk in humility today as I pray, “Jesus, You must become greater in my life, but I must become less.” I ask You to be at the center of my thoughts, my attitudes, and in my conversations today. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.

Father, we thank You for Jesus who came to this earth as a tiny baby with a mission to die on the Cross as a sacrifice for our sins to reconcile us to You. Not only are we forgiven and reconciled to You, but we also are made joint heirs taking on our new identity as “children of God.” What an incredible honor and selfless act of love that You would place us in Your Kingdom whose reign is for all eternity. This is the wonder of Your great love for all and the other wonder is that it is imparted to me personally. I can express agape’ love to others because Jesus modeled it, taught it through Scripture, and the Holy Spirit graciously provides it through us as we lay down our own preference in deference to Your perfect will! May we live the Christmas story everyday as we serve others above ourselves through Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

Father, we’re so thankful for Jesus whose infant birth took place in a smelly stable and whose bed was a feeding trough padded with stubbly straw and hay. It was certainly not a welcome setting for the infant born King but we can now see the stable as a composite of this unwelcoming world toward King Jesus. We’re so glad that He was willing to come to earth though He would be rejected by the majority. Yet we gratefully number among the many who receive Him as our personal Savior. We thank You that He came to deliver us from our fears and to release us from our sins. Through Your own eternal Spirit rule in our hearts today and raise us to Your glorious throne on Your appointed day. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.

Loving Father, Paid In Full is engraved on the loving hands and feet of our Lord Jesus Christ who gave His all that we could be fully pardoned. We accept this marvelous provision though it is incomprehensible by our finite minds to fully grasp. So many refuse Christ’s substitutionary death and continue to bemoan their pitiful plight in life, wallowing in their dismal existence. But for those of us who accept Christ’s full pardon we enjoy an abundant life, freed from the guilt of our past, and unfearful of our future. Our reservations for the New Jerusalem were secured upon our acceptance of Your free gift of salvation. It’s a win/win situation for all who forsake their sinful life and take up the cross of Jesus. We will still be praising You and giving thanks one million years from now, for never has there been such a gift offered by human hand. It’s because of Jesus and Your amazing grace that we have access to the throne. Amen.

Father, our hearts are heavy when we awaken each day with widespread evil, whether it’s in our region of the world or in a distant land like Pakistan where over 100 innocent children were slaughtered by Islamic terrorists overnight. It could drive us to despair when we consider the continuous chipping away of Biblical morals and godly restraint sweeping across the globe. Additionally so many deal with these troubling situations through a politically correct lens instead of the black and white truth. The only lasting answer to our soul’s diseases and widespread evil is provided for us in the arrival of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Though the majority reject Your answer for our sin problem, how grateful that Jesus still came, for He lives within the hearts of those who see their need and receive His forgiveness. In the midst of the prevailing darkness, like Longfellow, we declare that You are not dead and You do not sleep. Darkness is a temporary state, but Yours is an everlasting light. The hopes and fears of all the years are met in Thee, O God of light! Help us, in the midst of our own despair, to hear the bells. Amen.